Whew. It’s been another rough one. I’m gearing up for my Grand Re-Opening on Tuesday so I’ve been crazy busy. I’m actually going to open in a few stages. This week, I’ll be debuting jewelry.
I’m still at 363 this week. Weirddd.

Remember you can follow me on Pinterest for nearly-daily flailing and excitement. Now let’s get to the links!

Did you see anything cool around the internet this week? Is there a blog I should be reading? Got an opinion or thought about anything here? Share your own thoughts and links in the comments! Make sure to follow me (here, there, and everywhere) to get more updates!

Good grief I’ve been so busy lately. Let’s have a look at some of the things I’ve been making and doing in my spare moments!

Let’s start with the least impressive thing. This lovely little bag. It’s 7 by 7 inches, I think. Lined with extremely thin vinyl and sealed with a narrow strip of velcro across the top. If you’ve been around a while, you may remember I actually have a whole set of these in varying sizes. Some of them, including this one, were never finished. I finished it! 😉 I’m going to finish the rest of them and list them on Etsy.

SPEAKING OF ETSY, I’m going to reopen my shop! Kako and Marian and I have made a pact to all open/re-open our shops on May first. I’ve been planning to reopen around that time frame and working on new items, so I am every happy to finally have a date set.
Would you like a preview?

The lovely wooden bowl and sushi plate are also new – I got them (and many other similar things) at our local thrift shop. The bowl contains bracelets and necklaces, including two glorious chainmaille watches. The plate is displaying the earrings – and many of which will be in my “5$ or less” category!

Remember a few weeks ago, I announced that I’d won a giveaway at Too Crewel, for an Epic Alphabet embroidery pattern kit by Sublime Stitching? This is it! The kit came with this hoop, a gorgeous pair of embroidery scissors with a leather sleeve, a few skeins of floss, an embroidery needle, and of course, the pattern. I LOVE IT. I decided to do it in stark black floss on this delicately-patterned fabric, and I really like it so far.

Here’s another, more recent, shot of the Epic Alphabet. I am incredibly proud of these two letters. 🙂 This isn’t the first embroidery I’ve ever done, but I’d still call myself a novice, and I can literally see myself improving with every letter. Embroidery is so rewarding – very “instant gratification.” It’s also excellent for those with very little free time – you can pick it up and do a stitch and then go do something else. It takes hardly any time to do one of these letters.

And now for the last photo I’m sharing today – my craft nook. This room used to be our dining room. But the table was always covered with things, and we never manage to eat in there. So we decided to convert it into a craft/hobby room. The table is now devoted to my crafting things. My storage closet is just a few feet away, and it’s super nice to have a dedicated space for my projects.

My last bit of news: although I haven’t posted a recipe in a while, I haven’t stopped cooking! I’ve been taking photos while making fabulous foods. I’ve even cropped/edited some of them! Here’s a short list of what you should expect to find cooking around here in the next few weeks:
– Chicken Marsala
– Dornish Peppers (part of my Game of Thrones menu)
– Honeyed Chicken (more GoT food)
– Lasagna
– Wheat bread
There are many more in the hopper, but these are the ones I’m most excited about!

This isn’t relevant to media, but I just wanted to share that I won another giveaway! This time from Button, Button. I chose the Rumpelstiltskin pattern and I’m excited to give it a go.
Also, speaking of giveaways, the Too Crewel one that I won a few weeks ago, an embroidery kit from Sublime Stitching, came in the mail today. It’s awesome and I’ll probably blog about it.

Books

I finished A Feast for Crows this week! There was a really interesting “revealing of information” toward the end, and I’m excited to see things start rolling in that direction. I took a few days off, haha, and started in on A Dance with Dragons. This book is already much more enjoyable, because it’s got Tyrion and Jon Snow! 🙂

I’m loving PaperBackSwap. I’ve got a huge wish list – seems like everyone else wants to read the books I want, lol. I’ve received several books, though, and they’re all in great shape. Is it bad that I want to hurry through DwD so I can get to these ones? Come join me! Send me a friend request and/or a message, if you like. And please take my old books!

Movies and TV

A great week, this! Just look at the pile of movies I found! 🙂

Repeaters:Game of Thrones on HBO (Sunday evening) – This is my #1 priority show, even above Doctor Who. 😉Grimm on NBC (Friday evening) – this show started out weak but it’s greatly improved. It’s really suspenseful and good.Last Man Standing on ABC (Tuesday evening) – also improving as it goes.Once Upon a Time on ABC (Sunday night) – if loving Mr Gold is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Also, loving Eion Bailey! (We’re still behind a little; don’t spoil me!)Doctor Who plays frequently on BBC America, and if you’re not watching it there’s a deep void in your life. This week’s offerings include Midnight, Turn Left, and The Stolen Earth & Journey’s End.Best Ink on Oxygen (Tuesday night) – a tattoo artist competition show. It’s pretty similar to the one Spike ran recently. Quite good.The Big Bang Theory on CBS (Thursday night) – if you don’t know, nothing I say will help. Just watch it.

One-timers:Fried Green Tomatoes (HBO Family, Thursday wee hours) – really awesome tale of life in the Great Depression, as well as an empowering bit of femininity.The Shawshank Redemption (AMC, Sunday evening) – Morgan Freeman is all the reason you need to watch this.Braveheart (AMC, Sunday wee hours) – classic.McLintock! (AMC, Saturday) – one of John Wayne’s best.Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (IFC, Tuesday evening) – do you know where your towel is?I Am Legend (TNT, Saturday evening & Sunday afternoon) – these are my favorite zombies. I hope TNT doesn’t butcher it.Alice in Wonderland (Burton version) (ABCF, Saturday & Sunday evening) – visually stunning, of course, and a really interesting take on the tales of Alice.The Face on the Milk Carton (ABCF, Sunday morning) – never seen this, but I loved the book series as a kid. If it stinks, it costs me nothing.Finding Neverland (ABCF, Saturday evening) – Biopic of JM Barrie, creator of Neverland, starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. It’s a beautiful thing.Gone in 60 Seconds (ABCF, Thursday evening) – one of Nic Cage’s better movies. With the added bonus of the Ninth Doctor as the bad guy!Dune (BBCA, Sunday wee hours) – I recorded this a long time back and it got deleted before I could finish it. I’ve been waiting for it to come on again. 🙂The Tale of Despereaux (The Hub, Saturday evening & Sunday afternoon) – I liked the story, but not a huge fan of the writing style of the book. Giving the movie a try. Missy should like it, anyway.

Now that you know what I’m watching and reading, tell me what you’re turning your rabbit ears toward! What’s worth reading and watching in the world this week?

Double digits! This was one of those weird weeks, where it seemed to fly by but drag on forever at the same time. I have been stocking up for my Grand Reopening at my Etsy shop on May 1 (I’ll be posting more about that later this week), so I spent a lot of time AFK.
I’m at 363 this week – I went way down, but most of those were “haven’t been updated in months” culls. (Speaking of which, does anybody know what happened to Allie Brosh? [No I didn’t delete her.])

By the way, it’s Earth day! I hope you all enjoyed a lovely day off, hopefully enjoying our planet. If you’re interested in earning rewards for your green actions, come join me at Recyclebank! It’s easy and free. 🙂 (Disclosure: I get points if you sign up from my referral link.)

Remember you can follow me on Pinterest for nearly-daily flailing and excitement. Now let’s get to the links!

Articles and News

Dave’s not here, man. But we do have some research about cannabis. (io9)
You needed more creepiness in your sex life? Here it is. (Jezebel)Nuns may be the only part of the Catholic church who aren’t actively destroying lives, so of course the Vatican had to rebuke them for it. (Jezebel)
Thoughts about blogging business. (Ramble Ramble)
Someone has invented a REAL sonic screwdriver. (The Mary Sue)

Duckie! (via Cute-sturbing)

Entertainment News

A treasure trove of 500 fairy tales has been discovered. Now can we retire Snow White? (io9)
After 4 weeks at the top, the Hunger Games finally gave up the box office crown. (Jezebel)
Fill your Doctor Who cravings with these catchphrases. (Anglophenia)Game of Thrones drinking game. Go easy or you’ll die of alcohol poisoning. (io9)

Weekly Greatness:

Did you see anything cool around the internet this week? Is there a blog I should be reading? Got an opinion or thought about anything here? Share your own thoughts and links in the comments! Make sure to follow me (here, there, and everywhere) to get more updates!

When most people think of chainmaille, they probably imagine a knight in shining armor. That’s definitely a great use of rings, and weaving a sheet of maille is a very rewarding task. But did you know there’s more than one way to make it? Hundreds, in fact. And it’s not just for knights. Those simple rings can be used to make beautiful, intricate jewelry. It’s one of my favorite things to make. (And when I re-open my Etsy shop, expect to see lots of it!)

The pattern I’m going to share with you is a variation on Japanese 12-in-2 maille. What that basically means is that each pair of 2 large rings is surrounded by 12 smaller ones. I use a slight variation, mainly to hold the pattern tighter. Please forgive me if the photos are blurry, it’s quite difficult to get a clear picture of such small components.

A Note about Rings

In making maille, the size of your rings is very important. In a pattern with mixed sizes, like this one, the ratio between the inner diameter (ID) and the gauge (thickness) of the wire is crucial. I can, and frequently do, make my own rings, so I can carefully select these properties.
However, for this tutorial, I am using some prepackaged rings that I bought at Walmart. This is partly because it’s the rings I learned with, and partly because it’ll be easy for you readers to match! The packet of rings is in the craft section near the beads, and contains 3 sizes of rings – these two, and a medium size.
If you’d like to make your own rings, or buy different ones, here’s the specs on these rings. The smaller rings have an ID of 3mm, and are 20 gauge. The larger rings are 18 gauge, with an ID of 6mm.

When opening rings, grip it with two pliers, facing you, and twist – moving one side toward you and one side away. Do not pull the gap apart – TWIST it.
To close, reverse the process, obviously.

Gather Your Materials

For each flower you make, you will need:
14 large rings, opened – 7 pairs
12 small rings, closed
18 small rings, opened – 6 sets of 3

You also need two pair of needle-nose pliers, preferably with smooth gripping surfaces so you do not damage the wire. You will also need extra rings and other findings to finish your piece. You may want a soft surface like a cloth covering your work surface.

Weaving

Begin by selecting one of the large rings, and load all 12 of your small closed rings onto it. Close the large ring.

Select another large ring and carefully thread it through the twelve small rings, being careful not to loop through the first large ring. (That will produce a Mobius ring, which you can use, but that’s not what we’re working on today.)

You now have 2 large rings, back to back, with 12 small rings encircling them.

Select another large ring, and carefully thread it through 2 of the small rings. Repeat with 5 more large rings. You now have a central pair, connected to each single “petal” by a pair of small rings.

Now it’s time to connect the petals to each other. Choose two petals and hold the flower in such a way that you can access them.

Pick up one of your small open rings, and connect the large rings. Add two more small rings to that junction, so you have 3 small rings connecting the two petals.

Repeat the joining process all the way around.

Your final step is doubling the large rings in the petals. Hold your flower steady in your hand, and very carefully thread a large ring through the 8 small rings that surround a petal. Like before, be careful not to loop through the other large ring (unless you’re deliberately making a Mobius). Repeat for all 6 petals.

You have a completed flower!

Using other findings, you can easily make this into an earring. By making several flowers and joining them together in a strip, you can create a bracelet. Add a watch face, and you’ve got a watch! It’s also possible to join many flowers together to make sheets of maille.

It takes approximately 11 minutes for me to construct a flower, not including the time to select, open or close, and lay out the rings (another 5 minutes or so).

That’s all there is to it! Was it easier than you thought it would be? Would you like to see more maille tutorials?

Books

I’m still lost in Westeros. Working my way through Feast for Crows (that’s book 4). It’s a bit tough to get through, but don’t let that scare you off. The first three books are one wonder after another, and this lull in the action I’m working on is just the calm before the storm.
In spare moments, I’ve also been reading Luminosity. It’s a “fan fiction,” I guess. It’s a re-write of Twilight, wherein the characters don’t suck! (Come at me, haters.) No really. It’s what Twilight should have been. I’ve always maintained that it was a great idea, badly handled, and this is its redemption. It is full book-length, but worth the time.

I recently joined PaperBackSwap, and I love it. I’ve had a huge box of books stored in my garage – books I didn’t want for one reason or another. I listed them all (over 90!) and I’ve already sent out 13 of them (and have 2 more requests since Saturday). You receive 2 “credits” when you join and list 10 books, and one credit for each book you send out. You pay the postage to mail out your books, but when you “buy” a book with your credits, it’s completely free! I’m really enjoying it. Come join me! Send me a friend request and/or a message, if you like. And please take my old books!

Movies and TV

Another crummy week. There was very little that caught my eye this week. I don’t check every channel, though – so please, if you know of something good, let me know! (Don’t let that pile of repeaters fool you – this week is barren.)

Repeaters:Full Metal Jousting on History (Sunday evening) – JOUSTING. That is all.Game of Thrones on HBO (Sunday evening) – of course! I haven’t watched this week’s episode yet, but I will soon!Grimm on NBC (Friday evening) – this show started out weak but it’s greatly improved.Last Man Standing on ABC (Tuesday evening) – also improving as it goes.Once Upon a Time on ABC (Sunday night) – as a Fables junkie, this scratches my itch. We’re a few episodes behind, so no spoilers!Doctor Who plays frequently on BBC America, and if you’re not watching it there’s a deep void in your life. This week’s offerings include The Silence in the Library pair (bring some Kleenex) and The Unicorn and the Wasp (Agatha Christie!).Pawn Stars on History (Monday night) – I can’t help it. I love Chumlee. Corey can jump off a bridge though. Also check out American Restoration on Wednesday night.Best Ink on Oxygen (Tuesday night) – a tattoo artist competition show. It’s pretty similar to the one Spike ran recently. Quite good.My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic on the Hub (Saturday afternoon) – YES. (I have a preschooler so I do have a legit excuse for this, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.) This week is the Royal Wedding and season finale.

Contact is airing several times on AMC this week. SPACE. Carl Sagan. That is all. (I ordered this book off PBS, by the way, and it‘s on its way arrived on Tuesday!)Bend It Like Beckham is a great movie about sports and girls and race and how hot Beckham is, and it’s on HBO a couple times this week.
If you’ve never seen The Boondock Saints, tune in to IFC this week.

Finally, in honor of Earth Day, BBC America is running a marathon of Planet Earth all day on Saturday, so don’t miss it.

Now that you know what I’m watching and reading, tell me what you’re turning your rabbit ears toward! What’s worth reading and watching in the world this week?

Hello again! Hope you’re all having a restful weekend. I’m busy as always but I managed to keep up this week. I’m sitting at 380 subscriptions, which is 11 less than last week, lol. See, I told you that I do unsubscribe every now and then!
Remember you can follow me on Pinterest for nearly-daily flailing and excitement. Now let’s get to the links!

Ideas to Use

How to forage for and process nettles for consumption (Punk Domestics)
“Four Keys to Success for New Sellers” (Etsy Blog)
20 edible weeds (Curbly)
8 suggestions for easily greening your life (BlogHer)
Thoughts and suggestions on using a motorless (“reel”) mower. (Marian Dews-Hayes)
How to whistle through your fingers (Art of Manliness)

Let's have David with a kitty, like the cherry on top. (via Literate Knits)

Did you see anything cool around the internet this week? Is there a blog I should be reading? Share your own thoughts and links in the comments! Got an opinion or thought about anything here? Make sure to follow me (here, there, and everywhere) to get more updates!